On 10-4-18, I saw Tremonti at RocHaus in West Dundee, IL. HOLY you know what! While I knew the songs on A Dying Machine,
since it was released a little bit ago, this was my first time hearing the new songs live. SO. GOOD. Traispe was especially awesome live. Overall, they played SEVEN new songs, which is a lot, but I didn’t care. I wanted to hear the new stuff! At one point in the night it felt like they refused to let up on the pummeling. It was awesome! Haha Oh and I purposely didn’t check any set lists prior to the show and I got the best surprise when they played FLYING MONKEYS! That song is one of my super faves and I couldn’t stop smiling 😀 It was at some point during this set that I realized I have been following Mark Tremonti’s career for 20 years. WHAT?! With all the various band album anniversaries this year I swear it feels like the past 20 years have flown by in blink of an eye. Geezus.
Back story time. I got into Creed on their first album, My Own Prison. Honestly, to me anyway, it’s still one of the BEST albums. I saw them live for the first time at one of the ground stages at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI July 3, 1998. I would go on to see Creed several more times thru 2002 and again in 2009 for the reunion show (Where I discovered Like A Storm!).
With the release of One Day Remains in August 2004, Alter Bridge were fully on my radar and it was such an awesome album! They also toured and my first AB show was Oct 2, 2004 at The Rave in Milwaukee. This was also the first time I ever attended a show by myself. You see, neither my husband or my friends wanted to go with me. Well, I wasn’t going to let that keep me from seeing a favorite band and I am so glad I went! I would continue to see Alter Bridge thru 2017. As long as the band keeps touring, I will continue to see them live.
July 2012, the world was exposed to Tremonti with the release of All I Was, the heaviest project Mark Tremonti had released and MAN ALIVE DID IT KILL. SO HEAVY. Once again, I saw the band live (with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass even! Well, in the beginning anyway) and would continue to see them a handful more times, which brings us up to the October 4, 2018 RocHaus show. Well, technically, through October 9, 2018. See, a friend had an extra ticket to the show in Milwaukee and asked if I wanted to go. Sure! Who cares that I had just seen them a few days prior! That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!
Back to the RocHaus show. I purchased another copy of A Dying Machine so that I could meet the band after the show. Everyone was super nice and it was cool to talk briefly with everyone. Although, I felt like I talked Mark’s ear off because I was trying to get in as much as I could before I had to move along. Once through the line, I met up with my friend and I “casually” joined in on her plan to get back in line to get a photo with the band, while talking with someone else I knew who was at the end of the line. Sometimes patience pays off. Such a great night!
Jumping to the Oct 9 show in Milwaukee… another FANTASTIC SET. Although, because they were opening for 10 Years, there were a few less songs in the set. However, they played My Last Mistake, which wasn’t played at the RocHaus show. The band was hanging around after the Milwaukee show so I chatted briefly with them again and was able to have a longer convo with Mark, along with my friend. He was SO laid back and really enjoyed talking about his book, with the same name of the album, A Dying Machine. At one point, I felt like I was on another planet because I pretty much said to myself, “How is it I’m standing here talking to Mark FREAKIN’ Tremonti?!” Oh and at RocHaus I forgot to mention to him how much I loved Flying Monkeys so I thanked him for playing it at both shows. He said that it would always be in the set since it was his 2nd fave song. His first? A Dying Machine. HELL YES!
I lucked out with the Milwaukee set list (given to me by a 10 Years fan in the front row) and two guitar picks. The Dunlop, Mark threw out into the crowd. I was trying to look for it on the floor when the guy next to me pointed to my arm…where it was stuck! LOL (Yes, it was that hot in there.) The other is the A Dying Machine album cover that someone in the crowd gave to me (I think they were there for 10 Years.) (Photo below from RocHaus M&G)
And for those wondering…
My Creed Shows
1998 Jul-03 Summerfest ground stage – Milwaukee, WI
1998 Sep-12 Rockstock ‘98 New World Music Theatre – Tinley Park, IL
1999 Jul-25 Woodstock Griffiss Park – Rome, NY
1999 Oct-13 Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
2002 Feb-13 Allstate Arena – Rosemont, IL
2002 Aug-10 Alpine Valley – East Troy, WI
2009 Aug-30 First Midwest Bank Amphitheater – Tinley Park, IL
My Alter Bridge Shows
2004 Oct-02 Alter Bridge The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
2005 Feb-04 Alter Bridge The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
2007 Oct-08 Alter Bridge House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2007 Nov-17 Alter Bridge The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
2008 May-18 Alter Bridge ROTR Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
2008 Aug-09 Alter Bridge Lake County Fairgrounds – Grayslake, IL
2010 Dec-11 Alter Bridge House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2011 May-02 Alter Bridge House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2011 May-21 Alter Bridge ROTR Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
2011 Aug-13 Alter Bridge Rock The Ranch Shadow Hill Ranch, Twin Lakes, WI
2014 Apr-28 Alter Bridge House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2014 Apr-29 Alter Bridge House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2014 May-18 Alter Bridge ROTR Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
2016 Aug-15 Alter Bridge Red Rocks – Morrison, CO
2017 Jan-25 Alter Bridge Riviera Theater – Chicago, IL
2017 May-20 Alter Bridge ROTR Mapfre Stadium – Columbus, OH
My Tremonti Shows
2012 Sep-23 Tremonti Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
2013 Feb-22 Tremonti Austin’s – Libertyville, IL
2015 May-16 Tremonti ROTR Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
2015 Sep-29 Tremonti Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
2018 Oct-04 Tremonti RocHaus – West Dundee, IL
2018 Oct-09 Tremonti The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
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